Supporting Statements

When it comes to dealing with differences of opinion, the Supporting Statement is particularly effective. The underlying premise of the Supporting Statement is the understanding that everyone has a right to his or her own opinion. When people make statements which they think are valid, they are entitled to respect for those statements. The Supporting Statement communicates respect by acknowledging the other person's opinion before stating one's own.

The Supporting Statement is a three-step skill:

• Listen to the opinion. (This is a basic skill necessary to any communication.)
• Acknowledge the opinion through a statement indicating you hear and respect the other person's view.
• Introduce additional information representing your opinion about the facts.

Example:

Responses on a Continuum

When using a Supporting Statement, the most important thing you do is acknowledge a participant's opinions. As a facilitator, you may fall anywhere on the continuum of agreement/disagreement with these opinions.

• If you totally agree, you give total support and you might add additional information in support.
• If you totally disagree or only partly agree, you still acknowledge the student's opinion as valid and introduce additional information.

Example:

“But” and “However”

Each of the above statements begins with an acknowledgement of the participant's opinion. You might also notice there are no "buts" included. "But" and "However" are transitions to avoid in the supporting statement. These transition words signal that disagreement is coming. When I say, "That's a good point, but…," I'm essentially saying, "It's not such a good point." Words like "but" or "however" halt the listening process. When people hear those words, they usually stop listening to the additional information we want to provide and may be forming their rebuttal instead. Even teachers quit listening when hearing these phrases. It is clear that words stated after the "but" are words that counter the student's opinions. To avoid using the words, "but" or "however," either replace them with a period (a pause if speaking) or use the word "and."

More Examples

Participant Comment: "Online classes aren't as good as face-to-face classes. It's boring reading all of that material and never talking to anyone about it."
Supporting Statement: "Lots of reading with no collaboration is a total drag! PLS online courses not only encourage but even require interaction and collaboration with colleagues.

Notice that in this statement the facilitator agrees with the portion of the statement that she agrees with (reading without collaboration is boring) and goes on to provide more information on the incorrect information (online classes don't provide collaboration).

Participant Comment: "I've had several inservice trainings on this topic. I already understand (insert course name here), so I don't see why I should have to recreate the wheel for this assignment."
Supporting Statement: "Many teachers experience a sense of deja vu when they take a graduate course on a topic on which they've had an inservice training. Taking a full course on (insert course name here) allows you to dig deeper into the content and truly transform your skills in the classroom."

Participant Comment: "I'm not technically savvy enough to take an online class."
Supporting Statement: "Other participants have voiced that concern to me. If you are able to surf the web, use email, and are up for learning some new skills, taking an online class is totally within your reach."

Notice that in the last two statements, even when the facilitator disagrees with the comment completely, he is able to validate the participant's right to have that opinion, mentioning that the participant is not alone in that opinion. The facilitator then goes on to provide additional information.